Keith Shead, WSP’s Business unit director at the Birmingham office, talks to Paul Braithwaite about the new-found importance of the building services industry and why engineers must grasp the nettle and get used to their new status.
ENVIRONMENTAL legislation is making the building services and structural consultancy industry far more important today that it was ever considered to be.

Keith Shead, WSP Buildings' business unit director at the Birmingham office, believes that engineering consultancy is now coming to terms with its newfound importance, and consultants have far more influence over architects, who previously led most of the thinking.

It is not a case of trying to alter the role of the architects, it is just that good m&e and structural consultants know best how and where to make the energy savings.

'It used to be that building services was almost an add on, something that was thought of at the last moment,' says Shead.

'Now, before even pen is put to paper, our sustainability engineers will be involved. Energy efficiency and sustainability are the drivers.'

He adds: 'It is important, partly because of legislation and partly because of energy as a cost in its own right, that we demonstrate the building will be as efficient as it can possibly be'.

Shead admits there are still a few clients who are interested only in capital costs but those who have an interest in lifecycle costs are interested in the building at all stages: before it is being built, while it is being built and after it has been built. Now, even demolition is taken into account.

'Our involvement brings all these aspects to life and helps with the decision-making process, whereas before those decisions were not being made. Most of our clients want our input because they recognise we can make a difference.'

Commissioning too has grown in importance, he insists. 'There is more emphasis on getting it right. If a building is commissioned properly, it will perform better.'

Central to WSP Buildings' sustainability policy is a specialist team. This team has two roles. The first is to keep up with the latest on every cutting-edge aspect of sustainability. Secondly, but just as importantly, to spread the word to the rest of the staff.

'This cascading-down process is crucial. Everyone should know what is happening, what is coming up, and what it means for each team.'

Every person in WSP is receiving some quantity of information, from a CAD operator to a senior project manager (who will, of course, need much more detail).'It is not a separate function, it is completely embedded in what we do.' And everyone, he adds, has something to add to the process whatever the role.

Indeed, in the Birmingham office teams are all in one open plan office to encourage communication.Shead says that he wants them to talk.

'I don't want the e-mail to stop people talking to each other. Why e-mail someone who is sitting in the next desk but one? It is easier to get up and go over a talk.'

Shead practices what he preaches. 'Unless I need to send an e-mail to more than four or five people, I will walk over and talk to them. It is about personal relationships.'
He does, however, add that there is another reason and that is because he is useless at typing.
The Birmingham office mainly uses its IT to keep in touch with its outworkers.

Location not an issue

For instance, he has one colleague who lives and works from his home in New Zealand.
'He wanted to move back to New Zealand and we wanted to keep his specialist skills so he works from home for us here and it works well. It is about not losing good people because of the location. One secretary works from her home in Ireland in the same way.'

The head office is in Chancery Lane in Holborn and many of his Birmingham team work with London clients. But Shead's remit is also to ensure the Birmingham office has a strong regional presence as well as maintaining skills which are used internationally.

Current work for the Birmingham-based staff is on sites from Aberdeen to Belfast, as well as a significant number of projects in central European countries, particularly Romania, Russia, Bulgaria and Poland as well as the Middle East and India.

'We have skill sets here which are seen as exemplary in the group. For instance, we are the retail group specialists and we will be involved with all of the major retail developments being undertaken by WSP in the UK and worldwide.'

For instance, a team of retail specialists has just flown out to Bahrain to do a peer group review on a retail development to see if what is proposed there is up to the mark. 'Get the development right and the right retailers will come in and pay top rents. We have guys here who live, breath and eat retail. They can look at a plan and tell if it is going to work.'

He adds that one of the reasons WSP has grown so much is that 'there has been a lot of legislation which has helped educate clients to accept that what we offer should add value to buildings and this means that WSP gets repeat business'. Of course this could all change, given the downturn in the economy.

On hold

'Currently some four or five of our biggest projects are on some sort of hold with someone assessing the financial merit of residential mixed use schemes.' And while the public sector is holding up for now, 'government has poured so much money into the banks there has to be a slow down soon'.

He believes the money will still be there but the building programme will take longer to come to fruition. He also thinks the Olympics will be pared down to a more realistic level but there will still be massive benefits for the area when the games are over. What does concern Shead is that the downturn will force many contractors, especially the small ones, to cut training regimes.

'In my old business, we took the view we would continue training through the last recession. And sometimes we felt foolish when the trainee would finish his degree and then go to a firm up the road for £5K more when we needed him to work for us for a few years to pay back our investment, but that is life.'

However, he also acknowledged that training was not just for a particular firm but also for the industry in general. 'It is incumbent on some of us to make sure training continues so that the industry continues to develop.'

But he also believes companies which train flourish because they are putting their money into the future. He adds that people who are in this industry for the long term - and most of them are - understand that it is not just about money and many drift back to companies with better career progression.

It is the same for WSP.

Training counts

'We will be training a huge amount of people this year, and from the bottom up.'
He adds this must happen, to make sure the engineers who are working on his firm's projects are totally familiar with carbon reduction, new air conditioning inspection regimes, energy performance in buildings, and other new standards being introduced all the time. 'We have got to keep training to ensure we have specialists who will deliver the right solution.'

So what does Shead look for when he is recruiting?

Commitment

'You can tell whether people are committed. After basic training you begin to have a feel for which ones are going to achieve and move forward and which are going to do the work but not change the world. You put more investment into those who will make a difference.'

He adds that there are several people in the Birmingham office of WSP who have pushed those boundaries and have written papers on various subjects such as questioning legislation.

'One developer has adopted proposals in contravention of Part L. The paper demonstrated there were better ways of doing the work - and there are energy savings so the environment benefits.'
Shead says sustainability has changed the way the company works - and for the better.

As for becoming more important in the whole building process, then he is all for it.
'Building services engineering particularly, was well towards the bottom of the hierarchy. Now, although some engineers still find it daunting, we are sitting at the same table and deserving our place.'

He adds that if building services engineers do not take off in the new roles then they do not deserve the new-found importance position.


Wider horizons offered at WSP
KEITH SHEAD joined WSP when it acquired GW Building Services Consulting Ltd, a 60-strong company based in Birmingham and London.

The acquisition meant GW could offer more specialist services to its existing clients. For the GW staff it offered far wider horizons.

“I expected significant changes when I came from a relatively small organisation to a large one. But within a very short space of time, I realised the wealth of opportunities, which led to my present post where I have responsibility for the structural, m&e, public health and several specialist elements of the business in Birmingham.” Shead adds WSP owes its success to both organic and acquisitive growth.

“WSP is recognised as a good partner to join with and the majority have been successful acquisitions. It has brought lots of different blood into the business. It means we have the skill sets to look for opportunities to add value to our client offerings.” Shead adds that WSP seldom goes to a client and tells him what is needed.

“Our job is to listen and offer what he needs to add value to his business. Until we understand his business, we cannot know what he wants.”

Joining WSP group through an acquisition has given Shead the opportunity to judge the merits of bringing consultancy businesses together, and in his view, as long as there is a cultural fit, both clients and staff can benefit from the fresh skill sets and project opportunities available.